Bulldogs Sweep Binghamton to Win Yale Classic

Alexis Crusey. (photo by Sam Rubin '95, Yale Sports Publicity)

Sep 26, 2009

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Senior Cat Dailey
posted her fifth double-double of the season with 12 kills and 12
digs, and senior Alexis Crusey reached double-figure kills for the
third consecutive contest with a match-best 13 as the Yale
volleyball team swept Binghamton on Saturday night to the win the
2009 Yale Classic. The Bulldogs took the match by scores of 25-16,
25-21 and 25-12. Crusey was named Most Valuable Player of the
tournament after averaging 4.33 kills and 3.00 digs per frame
against Binghamton and Central Connecticut State.

“This is the best that I have seen Lexi play this
season,” said Yale Head Coach Erin Appleman. “She is
one of our leaders, and it is great to see her playing at such a
high level with the Ivy League season right around the
corner”.

With the win over the Bearcats, the Bulldogs improve to 10-1 on the
season and move to 5-0 at home. Dating back to 2008, Yale has now
won seven straight matches at the John J. Lee Amphitheater.
Binghamton, who lost a five-set battle to Central Connecticut State
earlier in the day, falls to 6-8.

Junior Kelly Ozurovich had a match-high 22 digs against the
Bearcats to solidify her place on the All-Tournament Team.
Ozurovich, who had 22 digs in both matches of the Yale Classic,
also earned All-Tournament honors and a slot on the Ivy League
Weekly Honor Roll for her performance last weekend at the Seton
Hall Invitational.

Freshman Haley Wessels wrapped up her All-Tournament bid with seven
kills and three blocks against Binghamton. Wessels averaged 2.80
kills per set and had six blocks in five sets of work in the
tournament. Sophomore Taylor Cramm chipped in four kills on seven
errorless swings, and sophomore Bridget Hearst rounded out the Yale
attack with three kills. Freshman Kerry Clavadetscher ran the
offense to the tune of a match-best 33 assists.

Michelle McDonough, who earned All-Tournament honors for
Binghamton, led the Bearcats with nine kills. She was joined on the
All-Tournament Team by setter Lindsey Mueller, who notched 17
assists and 13 digs in the match.

As a team, Yale hit .202 (39-16-114) and tallied four service aces.
Binghamton hit just .009 (24-23-110) and landed two aces. The
Bulldogs also won the blocking battle, 10-4. Hearst led that effort
with four blocks, including two solo stuffs.

After Binghamton registered the first two points of the match, Yale
put together an impressive 11-1 run, highlighted by three kills
from Wessels, to grab a commanding eight-point lead. After a
Bearcats’ kill ended that spurt, the Bulldogs immediately
tore off an 8-1 run to gain a 19-5 advantage. Binghamton would
rally late, outscoring the Bulldogs by an 11-6 margin over the
remainder of the set, but the lead proved insurmountable as Yale
claimed the first set, 25-16.

Set two was the most competitive of the three, as the Bearcats once
again jumped out to a fast 2-0 lead. The Bulldogs would respond
with three of the next four points to knot the score at 3-3, and
the deadlock held up to a 5-5 tally. At that point, Yale fired off
four consecutive points to gain a four-point lead that it would not
relinquish. Binghamton never allowed the Bulldogs to make a large
run in the set, as the lead never grew larger than six, but Yale
steadily strung together two- and three-point spurts to make its
lead stand up. A Crusey kill would eventually put set two in the
books at 25-21 in favor of the Bulldogs.

In set three, Yale came out of the gates with three straight points
and never looked back. By the time Binghamton took its first
timeout, the Bulldogs held an 8-2 edge en route to building a
comfortable 10-point cushion at 14-4. The Bearcats managed to put
together consecutive points only twice in the frame, both with the
Bulldogs within five points of victory, as Yale cruised to a 25-12
win to wrap up the 2009 Yale Classic.

Yale’s sweep of the tournament, coupled with its win against
Quinnipiac this morning, marks the second consecutive year that the
Bulldogs have gone unbeaten in their non-conference home
schedule.

The Bulldogs are back in action on Friday, Oct. 2, as the Ivy
League slate begins at the John J. Lee Amphitheater against Brown.
First serve from the Elm City is scheduled for 7 p.m.
report filed by Drew M. Kingsley, Yale Sports Publicity